Cardinals need to harness their energy

ICE HOCKEY

By: Tim Falls
   The Lawrence High School Ice Hockey Team wants to play intensity and purpose.
   The Cardinals haven’t had trouble raising their intensity in their first three games, but Lawrence learned intensity alone isn’t enough.
   After two straight wins, the Cardinals lost a little of their edge and fell to West Windsor-Plainsboro North, 6-2, last Friday.
   "They got distracted by the intensity of the game," said Lawrence coach Andy Borowski. "We didn’t play our system."
   Lawrence went out eager and took a quick league when Brock Krawczun tapped in a goal, not long after the Cardinals’ goalie Matt Azrolan stopped a breakaway going the other way.
   "We got caught up trying to win the game right away," said Borowski.
   After Lawrence took the lead, WW-P North came back and took control by scoring three times before the end of the first period.
   "We’re disappointed," said Borowski. "I don’t know what happened, but my players weren’t ready."
   Borowski felt the Cardinals were eager and enthusiastic, but did not harness their energy in a useful way.
   "Our players worked hard and played hard," said Borowski, "but we didn’t work hard using our system. We used our energy the wrong way."
   The Cardinals directed their focus better in their first two wins.
   Lawrence opened its season with a 5-1 victory over Nottingham and then edged West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 6-5.
   Despite having to fend off a Pirate rally, the Cardinals controlled the game throughout and never trailed.
   "They played smart," said Borowski. "A lot of times in these games the smarter team will prevail. We played aggressively and we moved the puck aggressively."
   Tim Finnerty scored twice while Pat Keegan, Patrick Kowalczyk, Matt Watson and Krawczun scored once in the win over WW-P South. Azrolan made 29 saves for the Cardinals, while the Pirates led, 34-29, in shots.
   Lawrence took the lead with two goals in the first period while holding the Pirates scoreless. Both teams scored once in the second period and Lawrence added three goals in the third period while WW-P South scored four.
   "They played confidently," said Borowski. "Up or down we have to play confidently. Whether we’re ahead or behind we want to play with confidence."
   Once the Knights took the lead, Lawrence had trouble gaining the confidence. Lawrence trailed 3-1 after the first period, and fell further behind in the second and third periods.
   "The hardest part is staying focused," said Borowski. "We didn’t go out and play our game. We have a system we want to play."
   Lawrence continued to play physically and punished the Knights with several hard hits, especially late in the game. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the only other goal came in the second half from Kowalczyk during a power play in the second period.
   As hard as the Cardinals played, there were things Lawrence could have done to win the game. The Cardinals failed to convert on a 5-on-3 in the second period, but also had to face several shorthanded situations.
   "It’s behind us," said Borowski. "Everybody knows things we could have done better."
   Lawrence had a chance to get back its focus with a game against Steinert last night (Wednesday) and another against Ewing at 4 p.m. today at the Lawrenceville school.